Oh-pear
by Charlie Hartley
Summary: Esca is stuck; he is twenty-eight, with a time consuming job that he wants to do better in, a six year old daughter and an untidy house. He is desperate for help. But Lizzie will do more than help; she'll invade their lives. And Esca isn't complaining! I openly admit that I stole the idea from LoquitorLatanae. But hey, that's what fanfiction's about! This is Nanny-ing rewritten.
1. Chapter 1

Esca was sitting in front of the TV, with his six year-old-daughter on sleeping on his lap, glued to his laptop. He was typing up an advert to put on a website for a nanny, because he needed someone to help him get his life back together. He was too young to have a child, a difficult ex, a mortgage and an unreliable job. He was only twenty-eight! Most people his age would be brand new to their jobs, and trying desperately to work their way up to the top, not doing as best they could to finish work at six, rush to pick up their kid from the child minder's or a friend's house, and spend the remainder of their evening bathing, feeding and entertaining a child. He knew what he had signed up for, and wouldn't honestly want to change it for the world; but he acknowledged that he did need help.

He was pleasantly surprised at the speed someone replied. It was the following morning, after he'd dropped his daughter at school, and before he was putting himself on a bus to work, that he found the message. He sipped his coffee, and clicked on the profile. Nothing astonishing to be found… A girl from the south Wales' valleys… No current job… Pulled out of university… Happy to work all hours… He shrugged to himself. She seemed safe enough. He replied to her average message, asking when she would be free for an interview. Instantly, a new notification appeared on the screen of his phone. Anytime, apparently. She wasn't busy. Whenever he was ready. Again, he shrugged. Would she like to come round for an introductory supper that evening? Apparently, she would.

Esca wasn't particularly bothered because he was tired, and because it was only an interview. If she was a creep, it wasn't problem. He was committing to nothing. He cleared his throat, rubbed his face, put his coffee cup in the sink, and disappeared to work.

He picked up Noelle, his daughter, from school, and told her that she was going to have a woman come and look after her, so that Esca could work for longer. Immediately, Noelle was full of questions he couldn't answer about the new nanny. He told her that he knew nothing, and they'd have to wait and see what she was like when she came round for supper that evening.

Supper. That was another worry. What should he feed her? He didn't really feel he could just buy a microwave meal from M&S, but what could he cook? He sighed, taking his daughter's hand. There was too much stress involved in his life.

After much dithering, he chose to cook something simple. Sending Noelle away to the TV, he managed to cook spaghetti Bolognese without too much hassle. He used to enjoy cooking, but there was no time for anything of the sort in the hectic life he lead.

Lizzie knew what to expect when she turned up on the McCunoval's doorstep. Possibly a middle aged widower with an important, City job, a bit of a workaholic, who didn't really know his kids very well. Or a creepy, smelly man, who didn't have a child, and was only interested in going to bed with her. She didn't particularly care which, provided she received the right pay check at the end of the day.

So, when a young, healthy, good looking man, who couldn't have been for that half a decade older than her, probably a lot less, answered the door, she had to stop herself from asking where his father was. She stuck out her hand. 'Lizzie Evans.' Esca took it.

'Esca McCunoval. Are you here for the job?' She nodded, and followed him inside.

Seating herself at the kitchen table, Lizzie spotted a young girl scuttle into the room. _Damn_, she thought to herself, smirking. _He doesn't just want me to go to bed with him._ She mentally chuckled at her change of heart.

The little girl grabbed hold of her dad's leg, and hid behind him. Lizzie craned her neck over to the side to catch the girl's eye, and waggled her fingers. 'Hello. Who are you, then?'

Esca tried pushing her out from behind him, but she clutched his leg adamantly. 'This is Noelle.' Lizzie's eyes lit up.

'I don't think I've heard such a pretty name before. Is it French?'

Noelle nodded, and Lizzie pulled a face. 'Ooh la la. Sophisticated. Have you been to France?' She nodded again. 'Come over here and tell me about it,' she said, smiling kindly.

Noelle looked up for confirmation from her dad, who gave her a small nod, peeling her off his leg. Slightly unsteadily, she sat herself down opposite Lizzie, who rested her head in her hands, and leaned forward. 'So, why'd you go to Paris?'

'Dad was dancin' there.' Lizzie raised her eyebrows, her lips curling into a slight smile, her eyes flickering to the man. She could see him being a dancer. He was small, yet graceful and strong. And he walked with his toes pointing out.

'Was 'e now? Is that what 'e does?'

'Well, he choreographs for shows on the West End.'

'Oh, yeah? Like what?' And Noelle was off, the words spilling out of her mouth as a train would from a tunnel. Esca smiled to himself as he continued to make the food, listening to Lizzie ooh and ah and make his daughter feel special. He was pretty sure he'd found the right woman.

Ten minutes later, Esca sent Noelle to bed. It was getting late, and he wanted to talk about grown up stuff with Lizzie. Noelle put up a fight, but Lizzie stopped her with a wink and a, 'I'll come up and say good night if you're awake, orrigh? But if it's too late, I won't.'

Lizzie felt useless as Esca served her food. She couldn't stand not controlling what happened to her. 'So,' Esca said as they began to eat. 'Where're you from?'

'An old minin' village down Swansea way. You're not from around here, either, though.'

'North-east. Durham. Half an hour outside Newcastle.'

'Oh, OK, Durham. Ex-minin' county, too.'

'Well, yeah, but I don't have any relation to that. D'you?'

'Me dad, and uncles, and granddad. It's what made me want to go into politics.'

'Oh, yeah?'

'Yeah, I studied political science here, but I never managed to finish my degree.'

'How come?'

She paused, then shrugged. 'Life.' He narrowed his eyes slightly, but she changed the subject sharpish. 'So, what got you into dancin'?'

'Dunno. I started going to the ballet classes because I didn't like football or rugby or anything.' She tutted.

'You don't like rugby?'

'You do?'

'Oi! Wales won the six nations!'

Esca rolled his eyes. 'Yeah, I remember something like that…'

'That was a big event in Wales!'

'Nobody else cares.'

'Rubbish! The whole world were cheerin' that day, and we were on top of it!' They were both laughing, and continued to insult each other long after they'd practically licked their plates clean. Esca opened a bottle of wine once they'd calmed down, and they started to talk seriously, discussing politics and the difference between English and Welsh culture, and British and American culture, and more intellectual subjects until eleven thirty at night, when Lizzie glanced at her watch. 'Oh, dear! I'd better get home.'

'I'd offer to drive you back, but I don't have a car.'

'S'fine. So, d'you wan' me to work 'ere, or what?'

Esca didn't hesitate for a moment.


	2. Chapter 2

And so, it began. Esca became happier than he'd been for a long time within a week and a half. He took a lot more time at work, polishing off a huge project he was in the middle of, not having to worry about where his daughter was, or whether she was even happy, because he trusted Lizzie to take care of Noelle. He started to even dance on stage a little bit; he was desperate to do so before he grew too old. His career as an active dancer was drawing nigh.

He had meant to spend more time with his friends, and try to find a girlfriend, but found that he didn't want to. He would much prefer to go home and spend time with his daughter and catch Lizzie briefly. She would come at half past seven every morning, and leave whenever Esca came home, usually about twelve hours later. She would take advantage of their television during the day, when she'd finished cleaning the flat and Noelle was at school. He told her that, of course, she could do whatever she wanted when everything was finished in the flat, provided Noelle was OK, and she shrugged and said that she liked their flat. She also hated her own flat; she had to share with three other students.

Ten days into Lizzie's arrival, she stayed for dinner again. Noelle had talked her into cooking a roast dinner when Lizzie had told her that she could cook the chicken, potatoes and vegetables in the same dish. Noelle was sceptical of this, and Lizzie continued to insist, until Noelle forced her to promise to cook it one evening. Lizzie was caught out by this, and, unfortunately, found no choice but to agree. And on top of everything, Noelle decided to withhold the fact that Esca was going to eat it too.

So, Lizzie was in a total panic an hour before Esca was supposed to get home; darting here, there and everywhere. Noelle watched in interest from the kitchen table, where she was meant to be colouring in fairies, as Lizzie swore under her breath and burned her fingers. All of a sudden, she stopped. She straightened up, sucking on her injured finger thoughtfully. And then, she threw her head back and laughed. What was the worry? This was Esca, for goodness' sake, not the Queen of England. Noelle laughed with her, though she wasn't sure what about. After thirty seconds of uncontrolled, belly laughter, she sat herself down, opposite Noelle, wiping small tears away.

Noelle eyed her suspiciously. 'What's funny?'

'Aw, nothin'. I've just realised that there is nothin' t'be worried about, at all, and do you know why?'

'Uh… No.'

'Because you and your dad are absolutely lovely, and won' really mind what I put on your plates.' She sighed happily. 'I'm lucky, with you, I am,' she said contently. 'I know I am,' she said to herself under her breath.

Esca was delighted to find a slightly abashed Lizzie, and a beaming Noelle, respectively trying to play down the roast dinner and trying to big it up. It wasn't the best meal he'd ever had, but it wasn't bad. Only slightly burnt ("crispy" he insisted when Lizzie apologised), and while he wasn't particularly hungry, he managed to eat a plateful. And it was made even better when Lizzie stayed up late, talking to him again. He felt like he should let her go home, back to her own life, but was too selfish to do so. Though, she seemed perfectly happy.

They drunk wine and talked late into the night again, discussing the terrible government they were under, which lead to talking about Thatcher, whom they discussed for a very long time, dissecting her life and career. Esca could tell that Lizzie was a little bit impressed by his knowledge, although he was winging it mostly on The Iron Lady and some documentary that had been showing for six weeks, just after she'd died.

Lizzie, however, had devoted a lot of her time to that last seventy years or so of history. Esca didn't know so much that he couldn't ask questions, and he let Lizzie prattle on for ages. Not that he didn't enjoy listening; he thought it was quite interesting, the way she told it, with her exaggerated hand gestures and Welsh accent becoming even more sing song-y, and her eyes lighting up every time she had what she thought was a valid point, before laughing and relaxing into her chair.

She started to spend more time with Esca and Noelle than before after that. With her head held high and no signs of being even slightly ashamed, which Esca was sure she would have been before, she asked to have access to his computer. She claimed to have no laptop, and she had used her flat mate's before, but he had banned her from it. Esca had agreed, of course, but raised his eyebrows slightly and looked amused. 'Why were you banned?'

'Because he claimed the internet was getting slower because of me.'

He pulled a face. 'How does that work?'

'I dunno. He used to let me use it so he could check my internet history and documents, but I deleted all the history, and put password on the documents, so he gets nothing out of it.'

Esca didn't look quite as amused, more sympathetic. 'He sounds terrible.'

'Yeah, he is. But, what can I do? I can hardly move out. Where would I go?'

There was a pause. Esca looked at her, wondering if she was hinting at something. But she didn't seem to have noticed the significance of her words, her brow furrowed slightly at the screen as she created herself a new login. He thought about offering to let her stay, but chickened out when he realised that if that was what she wanted, she was doing a fairly decent job of hiding it.

She also stayed late to use their TV; especially on a Friday. That was when Friday night comedy was on, which she hated missing. Esca had never been a huge watcher of the shows (Would I Lie to You, Have I Got News for You, Not Going Out, The Graham Norton Show, etc.), but found that there was nothing more enjoyable than sitting next to Lizzie, with her deep, belly laughs, and muttering things under her breath about the "bastard" guests on each show.

Lizzie had been working for the McCunovals for three weeks, rarely coming over at the weekend. Both she and Esca agreed on the importance of Esca spending personal time with his daughter, so he would always take the weekend off to lie around in his pyjamas with her or take her to the museum or to the cinema. There was nothing he loved more than spending time with Noelle.

But one weekend, maybe three weeks after Lizzie had pretty much invaded their lives (not that any of them were complaining), he could tell that something was troubling his precious daughter. They were still in their pyjamas, and lying on the floor in front of the television, Noelle on Esca's lap. Her head was on his chest, and his head was leaning on a pile of cushions.

They were watching Lilo&Stich, an all time favourite of theirs, but Esca could see that she wasn't concentrating. She didn't even face the screen; she listened to her dad's heart beat as she stared out of the window. 'Are you alright?' he whispered, cuddling her closer to his face. She didn't reply, so Esca switched the TV off, and sat up properly. 'Hey, what's wrong?' Noelle buried her face into his collar, and he rubbed her back, making comforting noises in her ear. He was, as always, surprised at how deeply it affected him when his daughter was upset.

She started to cry a little bit, and Esca nearly lost it, too. He wiped her eyes with his thumbs, and cradled her. 'Come on, it's OK. Whatever it is, it's nothing we can't fix, I promise.' Noelle took a deep breath. 'Can you tell me what's wrong?'

'Dad?'

'Yeah?'

'Was I a mistake?' Before Esca could process her words, she had pressed her face into his shoulder again. 'I was, wasn't I?' she shouted, her words muffled.

Esca could nearly feel his heart physically break in two. Yes, maybe she was right and she had been a mistake, but a wonderful one. He couldn't imagine a life without little Noelle. 'No, of course not,' he said in as calm and patient a tone as he could muster. 'Why would you think that?'

'Bella said so.'

'Bella, your best friend Bella?'

'She doesn't like me any more, though. She was saying loads of horrible stuff yesterday.'

'Like what?' He started to smooth her hair soothingly.

'She told me only men who want to be women do ballet.'

'But, that's ridiculous. I don't want to be a woman!'

'That's what I told her. But she told me she didn't believe me.'

Esca pulled a face, briefly wondering where Bella had heard all this, before quickly deciding it would have been her mother. He sighed heavily. 'Did she say anything else?'

'Well, she was talking about that for ages, then she said…' She gulped. 'She said you didn't want me!' He held onto her head, and made her look at him.

'Why on Earth wouldn't I want you? What's not to want?'

'Mummy didn't want me.' Esca sighed. Again, Noelle was spot on. Her mother hadn't wanted her at all, and he knew that she would never believe him if he lied.

'Yeah, I know. But, you know, she wasn't right about everything. She wasn't right about anything. She was a stupid woman.' Her eyes welled up with tears again.

'And, hey,' Esca added quickly. 'Lizzie loves you, and would you prefer your mum, or Lizzie?'

Noelle sniffed, and smiled shakily. 'She doesn't love me. She loves you.' Esca smirked.

'How'd you work that out?'

'You can just tell. It's something boys wouldn't understand.' Esca grinned and started to tickle her.

'Wouldn't they?' She screamed with laughter, but continued to assure him that they wouldn't. 'Are you sure?'

'Yes, yes, yes!'

He picked her up, swung her over his shoulder, and tickled the soles of her feet. 'I don't think that's true. Would you like to take it back?' Tears were streaming down her face, but he wouldn't stop.

'Yes, OK, I take it back!' Finally, he let her down. She was still giggling, and a little unsteady on her feet. Esca crouched down to kiss her forehead.

'I love you, y'know. Yer fantastic.'

Noelle threw her arms around his neck. 'Daddy?' she whispered in his ear.

'Yes?' he whispered back.

'Can we finish Lilo&Stitch?'

That wasn't the sole problem Esca had to solve (or at least discuss) that day. Late in the evening, after he and Noelle had come back from their trip to Pizza Express and Noelle had gone to bed, he received a text from Lizzie, asking if she could come over for a chat. Immediately, he replied with a yes, wondering what could be so important.

She was on his doorstep within ten minutes, looking worried and bedraggled. He ushered her in quickly, sitting her down at the kitchen table and making her tea. 'So,' he said, forcing the mug into her hands, 'What's wrong?'

Groaning, she put the tea down and rubbed her face hard. 'I've only just gone and made the biggest fuck-up you could imagine.' Esca raised his eyebrows, encouraging her to continue. She opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again. 'You'll never look at me the same after this.' He folded his arms.

'Try me.'

'Well,' she began. 'You know I told you about the lad who wouldn't lend me 'is laptop?'

He nodded.

'Well, like, I slept with 'im once, and I was proper drunk an' everythin', and obviously regretted it in the mornin', because 'e's a bastard. See, he didn't seem to understand that I actually don' like 'im, as if somehow a one night stand is a declaration of undyin' love or somethin', and 'e keeps tryin' to come on to me, and then I tell 'im no way, so he makes my life a misery, like stoppin' me usin' the laptop an' everythin'. Well, see, I slapped him earlier when he tried snoggin' me and puttin' an 'and up me shirt, and now 'e's kicked me out of the flat.'

'Does he have the right to do that?'

'Well, that's the worst of it, see. He _owns_ the flat.'

Esca didn't know why it made his stomach clench so tightly when she said that she had slept with someone, and his mind kept trying to wonder off into thinking about who else she might have slept with, but he forced himself to concentrate on the subject at hand. 'Where's all your stuff now?'

She looked slightly guilty. 'Me suitcase is in the cab outside. I thought I could sleep on your sofa for a night.' Esca smiled.

'You can stay with us for as long as you need to. Forever, if you like.' Her shoulders visibly relaxed.

'That's a huge relief, see, because I don' 'ave anywhere else to stay.'

They made up the bed in the spare room that was a sort of unused office and playroom, too. It wasn't huge, and was cluttered up with all sorts of junk, but Lizzie was so happy to have a roof over her head that she couldn't bring herself to care.

When Esca lay in bed that night, he finally let his mind go crazy. He couldn't understand what was wrong with him. Lizzie could do whatever she wanted, right? He had no ownership over her. Although, he hadn't been sleeping around at all; not since Noelle, really. Nothing serious, anyway. Who was Lizzie to be allowed to be free? Lizzie was the very name of freedom.

He thought like this for a while, before finally drifting into sleep, still thinking about Lizzie. And that was the first night he dreamt of her.


	3. Chapter 3

An arrangement was made between Esca and Lizzie the following morning. Lizzie would stay with them for as far as the eye could see, provided that she was always ready to look after Noelle. She would be paid whenever she was actively caring for Noelle, and she would not pay for food or shelter. Esca had insisted on this little detail.

And, happily, all three of them coincided. Esca would leave for work in the morning, and Lizzie would take Noelle to school. Then, Lizzie would clean for a bit, and perhaps do grocery shopping, but then she would took something she considered to be more useful; reading up in the library, for instance, or looking for a job that would give her a start in her political career. But, for a reason she wouldn't tell to Esca, she was struggling to find a job.

There was another change. Esca and Lizzie grew much closer than they had been before, almost immediately. So much so, that only two evenings later, when they were sitting on the sofa reading quietly, Lizzie mustered the courage to ask him where Noelle's mum was. Esca glanced up in surprise. 'Huh?'

'Why isn't Noelle's mum here anymore?' she asked quietly. It wasn't in her nature to not be blunt and to the point, but she wanted to handle the situation with care. Esca shook the look off his face, put his book down, and took of his glasses slowly, thinking out his reply.

'She never did live here.'

'Where is she now?'

He chewed his lip thoughtfully. 'I think she's in America, but I haven't heard from her for seven years.' Lizzie leaned forward attentively. Esca sighed. 'Years ago, I dated this ballet dancer called Maria. I don't really know why; I didn't like her that much. But we dated for months. I kept meaning to break up with her, but I could never be bothered. It was too much hassle.' Lizzie smiled. 'Then I found out from mutual friends that she was pregnant, and was going to have an abortion, but she hadn't told me. So, of course, I confronted her.'

Lizzie raised her eyebrows. 'Are you anti-abortion?' she asked accusingly. She knew it was mean of her, but she couldn't help it. Esca looked slightly flustered.

'No, of course not. But, you know, she only wanted an abortion because she wouldn't have been able to dance for a year and a half or so, and who knows what could have happened in between now and then? I threatened to take her to court, but I didn't. I gave her a sum of money to carry Noelle, and then, once she'd gone through labour, she handed her daughter to me and pissed off to do some more training in America.'

'Wow. Heart broken.'

'Not really. Just upset that I didn't have Noelle with someone I love.' Lizzie smiled sympathetically.

'Sorry for putting you through all that. Just curious, y'know?'

'Yeah, course, don't worry. You deserved to know.'

She nodded, and looked at her watch. 'Oooh, I think QI starts tonight.' She scanned the room for the remote, having already assumed Esca was happy to watch it. She saw it balanced on the top of the television, and stretched out her arm, knowing full well that she was two or three metres away from it. She sighed, and pushed herself off the sofa to get it. Esca watched her, before realising it was creepy, and going back to his book. But, for whatever reason, he'd been reminded of the weird dream he'd been having repeatedly about her.

'You OK?' she asked when she sat heavily next to him. He forced himself to ignore the fact that his feet were resting on her waist.

'Yeah,' he replied, but she was already flicking through the channels. He would have liked to carry on with his book, but that wasn't to say that he didn't love QI, too.

After three quarters of an hour of some Quite Interesting and hilarious facts, he found that it hadn't taken his mind off Lizzie. She sucked air threw her teeth, and grinned as the ending credits came on. 'I do love Alan Davies, though.' Esca hummed in agreement. She turned her head. 'Are you alright?'

'Sure.' He received a text from his friend, and stared down at his phone, so Lizzie went back to her book. It was an old friend, who had got him the job he had now. He smiled when he saw it; Marcus had moved away, and he hadn't seen him for months. It said that he was in town, and asked if he wanted to chat. Esca stood up, and called him, walking out of the room.

Lizzie didn't look up; she kept her eyes glued firmly on her book. But she had to force herself to push down the worry of whom he was talking to.

'Hello?'

'Hey, Esca!'

'Marcus!'

'Long time, no… Speak.'

'Yeah, I know, I know! So, you said you're in town.'

'Yea, I just landed in London. I'm staying with Arty.'

Marcus and Esca had met while Esca was dating Maria. Marcus was part of the stage crew, while Esca was actually on stage. They became great friends, and when Esca was landed with Noelle, Marcus had found him a steady job. Unfortunately, not long after that, he had moved back to his native America. Every so often, they would meet up again, but it would be every six or twelve months.

'Oh, cool. So, what've you been up to?'

'Broadway, actually.'

'No way!'

'Yeah, it's been good fun. How's Noelle?'

'She's great.' Marcus may have been a very close friend of his, but he didn't want to fill him in on all the details while he was on the phone, and probably a bit jet lagged.

'And have you found a girlfriend yet?'

Esca paused. 'Not exactly.'

'What does that mean?'

'Well, we employed a nanny about a month ago now, and she literally just moved in because she had nowhere to go, and I mean, I kind of wish she was, because it would make everything less awkward, but I don't think it will happen.'

'There's only one way to find out.'

'What do you mean?' Esca wasn't sure he wanted to know what he meant.

'Can I meet you three for dinner?' Marcus asked, changing tack. Esca didn't complain.

'Of course. When are you free?'

'What about Friday?'

'Yeah. I mean, people are hardly queuing at the doors for our attention.'

'I'll come over there to see Noelle, then me, you, and your crush will go out for dinner. Find a babysitter.'

'Please don't call her my crush.'

'Will you come?'

'Fine.'

'Great. We'll catch up then. I'll be there at five.'

Esca hung up, and sighed. He could only hope that Lizzie would agree to go. 'Hey, Lizzie?' he asked, poking his head around the door. She looked up.

'Yes?'

'A friend of mine wants to see Noelle and meet you. He said dinner on Friday?'

'Sounds great. Who is it?'

'Marcus, an old friend.'

'Cool. I'll look forward to it.' Lizzie wondered briefly what had been said about her, but convinced herself she wasn't dwelling on it.

When Friday rolled round, Esca was filled with dread. He had no idea what was going to happen when both Marcus and Lizzie were in the same room. He had spent nearly an entire forty eight hours analysing the situation, acting out all the situations in his head.

But, no matter how much he tried preparing himself, his heart still jumped into his throat when the doorbell went. He opened the door, and plastered a smile on his face when he saw Marcus. 'Hey! Come in!'

'I don't mind if I do.'

Noelle came rushing in as soon as he had taken off his coat. 'Hey, you've grown!' Marcus cried. Noelle grinned, and giggled. Marcus took a carefully wrapped present out from behind his back. Esca was standing, smirking, with his arms folded.

Lizzie followed closely behind Noelle, and Esca quickly introduced Marcus and Lizzie. Once the formalities were out of the way, they all crowded into the kitchen, making tea and finding seats and tearing wrapping paper from exciting new objects.

They were to drop Noelle at an elderly neighbour's at seven, and she had agreed to look after the young girl until however late they came back (fairly early, Esca had promised). They weren't going anywhere special; a little Italian place down the road, and possibly the pub afterwards, but that was all.

However, Lizzie still felt the need to dress up. Esca had reasoned afterwards that what she was wearing was normal, everyday clothes for many young women, but it was a change from Lizzie's normal jeans and shirt. It was a blue dress, with spaghetti straps, and she let her read hair fall over one shoulder. The dress came to her knee, and it slowly changed to a darker shade of blue as it rose. It hugged all her curves, and she had brushed lipstick over her lips to make them pouty, and her eyes seemed to have become a shade darker. It took all of Esca's self control not to show how impressed he was.

'OK,' she said, seemingly oblivious to the two young men's expressions. 'Let's make tracks.'

Fortunately, Noelle made no fuss at all; she was on her best behaviour for Marcus, who had spoiled her all evening. And the evening began rather well; Lizzie and Marcus got on like a house on fire, and they could apparently banter until the cows came home. Esca didn't mind; so long as it was all going well, and Marcus didn't sleep with her, then it was going to be fine. It also gave Esca the chance to stare at her without anyone noticing. He couldn't help it.

They, regrettably, didn't go on to a pub afterwards. It was already getting relatively late in the evening, and it was Lizzie who said they should probably be getting back to rescue poor Mrs Simpson from Noelle. She slipped off to the loo while they waited for the bill (a tactic Esca was nearly certain was so that she wouldn't have to offer to pay the bill. They both knew there was no way she could afford it). Marcus immediately told him to kiss her. 'Excuse me?'

'Just do it, man,' he shrugged. 'You'll never know if you don't find out, anyway.'

'Yeah, and if it turns out she doesn't, then we'll have a problem on our hands.'

'Look, Esca, I don't know her as well as you do, but she doesn't seem the type of person to hold a grudge. You can always say you were tipsy, anyway, so what's the problem? Plus, she's not going to be around for ever. She's going to get a job, and then she's just going to leave. Unless you guys fall in love, then it will all be fine.'

Esca groaned. 'Come on, you know I'm right. Just promise me.'

'Alright. I promise. But if this ends badly, I'm blaming it on you.'

Marcus opened his mouth to reply, but Lizzie had come back.

'All OK? Let's go home.


End file.
